Friday, June 6, 2025

June 06, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Friday, June 6, 2025 

Welcome to another Friday edition of the Tech:NYC Digest, featuring our favorite five highlights in New York tech this week.

  • But first: Tech:NYC will be ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq this afternoon to celebrate a thrilling NY Tech Week and the launch of Obviously NYC.

    • Tune in live at 3:45pm here! 🔔

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

Inside our groundbreaking Tech Week AI Demo Night: ‘These are the ideas that are going to propel New York’s economy for generations to come’ (NY Post)

  • NY Tech Week was a marathon, jam-packed with tech events throughout the city. On Tuesday, we co-hosted NYC AI Demos with Pensar AI, Two Trees, and NY Post, featuring AI demos from the likes of IBM, Google DeepMind, Flora, and more.

We went to NYC Tech Week, where everyone is saying the city is the land of opportunity (Business Insider)

  • The Business Insider team attended a flurry of events during NY Tech Week (including a couple featuring Tech:NYC!). 

    • Their main takeaway? “When it comes to building startups from AI to consumer to deep tech, New York is no longer playing catch up to attract startup interest. It might just be pulling ahead.” 🗣️

Here’s where you can watch the Tony Awards with fellow theatre lovers in New York City this Sunday (amNY)

  • PSA: The Tony Awards are Sunday starting at 8pm. 🎭 You can catch all the action at home on CBS, or with fellow theater lovers at watch parties across the city.

At this NYC sumo club, ‘everybody gets thrown’ (New York Times)

  • The New York Sumo Club has been growing steadily since its inception in 2022. The club held NYC’s first amateur sumo tournament a few weeks ago in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, complete with award-winning wrestlers, shocked onlookers, and a trophy for the champion.

    • The club’s owner, Oscar Dolan, founded the club after realizing there weren’t any amateur sumo wrestling clubs in the city, and membership in the club is “mostly based on vibes.” 🤼 

Checking out the newly reopened area of East River Park (EV Grieve)

  • New park, who dis? 🌳 The city just opened refurbished parts of East River Park, the first time these areas have been open to the public since demolition work began as part of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) in late 2021. 

    • New amenities in the park include new tennis and basketball courts, picnic and BBQ facilities, a lawn, and a flexible-use space.

    • Six hundred new trees have been planted in areas reopening, along with more than 21,000 new shrubs, grasses, and perennials.

ICYMI: This week we launched Obviously New York, our new initiative that celebrates a simple truth: if you want to build in tech, in the capital of everything, build in NYC.

We asked you for your “Why New York” stories, and you did not disappoint! Here are some of our favorite responses. (You can get involved, reach out for an "Obviously NYC” badge for your org, and sign up for updates ➡️ obviously.nyc.)

Q: Why have you chosen to build in New York?

  • “There's no other place in the world! This is the intersection of grit, smarts, heart and talent. It's just obvious!”

  • “New York is the world’s neighborhood.”

  • “Building something takes grit, patience, community, obsessiveness and fortitude. That's New York! Or as my late father liked to say ‘New York City... top of the food chain!’”

  • “As an immigrant founder, I chose New York because it’s one of the few places where being different is actually your edge. I came here with no network, but what I found was a city that rewards boldness, speed, and grit.”

  • “It’s a place where meaningful public impact is possible — where technology can genuinely improve lives and strengthen communities.”

  • “Because it's the best tech town on earth!”

  • “Because it's the only place to build at the intersection of arts, culture, community, education, finance, and technology — and to build an AI-native business, it's imperative to thrive at the intersections.”

  • “The talent and resources in NYC are second to none. There is no better place for opportunity than NYC.”

  • “The intersection of academic institutions, biotech startups, investors and the energy and commitment of the NYC ecosystem is second to none!”

  • “It's capital of capital and vertical tech.”

  • “New York is where ambition meets community. It's a city that thrives on diversity, momentum, and bold ideas — all of which fuel innovation.”

  • “The future is here!”

  • “I’m a native New Yorker who sees the pulse of the city and its culture of pushing for excellence. This city’s energy and diversity fuel innovation and challenge me to think bigger. I believe that’s the perfect environment to build something world-changing.”

  • “You need to ask? C'mon! NYC is the best!”


Have a great weekend, New York! 🗽

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here.
Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.